Psalm 103:1-8 (RSV) Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.

A man walked up to his pastor and said, “I can understand ‘God bless me,’ but how can I bless God? What does it mean when we sing ‘Oh bless the Lord my soul?’” The pastor asked the man, “Do you have any children?” “Yes,” he replied, “a boy who is five and a girl who is six.” “Do they give you Christmas presents?” “Sure,” he replied. “Where do they get the money?” He laughed and said, “I give it to them.” “That’s exactly it,” the preacher answered. “You pay for the Christmas presents your children give you. You watch them plan and whisper their secrets and get excited at the prospect of surprising Daddy. Then on Christmas they come and say ‘Daddy, here is a blessing for you.’ It came from you, but it was a blessing because it came back with their love.”

Maybe that is how we should think of Stewardship: Blessing God. Christian stewards/managers want to  “bless” Him with our entire being, declaring our praise and thanks. That is why many of the newer translations say “Praise” instead of bless in this Psalm, but the Word is the same one that speaks of God giving to us. When it is addressed to God, though, it is understood in the sense of blessing Him with what He has first given to us. I try to make that my understanding of stewardship. All too often it gets reduced to talk about money, which is a disservice to what stewardship should be.

Did you hear about the little boy who saw the offering plate coming down the aisle, so he pulled off his clip-on tie and put it in the collection plate? His mother asked him why he did that and he said, “The pastor is always talking about giving you ties and offerings.”

As amusing as that may be, the little guy had the heart of wanting to give from what had been given to him. That is the heart of a Christian steward. God does not ask you to bless Him with anything He has not first given to you.

I remember a time I was repairing a section of fence around my back yard. I had to dig 8 new holes for fence posts. I was using an old, manual post hole digger. The clay in our yard resembled concrete and it took several days to dig those holes. After I had dug one or two, Cheryl saw how hard I was working, brought me a drink and asked, “Don’t they have something you can rent to do this.” My reply was, “Yeah, but right now I have more time than I do money.” As I thought about that later, I wondered how my complaints to God about finances compared to the thanks I had given Him for the abundance of time I had. Should I not be blessing the Lord with the things He has given to me? Shouldn’t we all?

That is what we should all consider when we think of our stewardship. What has God given you that you can use for Him? What talents and abilities has God given that you can use to bless His holy name? Everything you have comes from the one who owns it all and freely gives it to you. And if that were not enough reason to give back to Him, the Psalmist puts it in perspective.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy… 

That is what God has done for each of you in sending Jesus Christ into this world. The death of Christ in your place and His resurrection from the dead forgives your iniquity, heals your diseases, redeems your life from he pit and gives you the crown of life.  Your faith in Jesus assures you of these blessings. The proper response is Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

May that be your understanding of Christian Stewardship.